It Is Wrong To Be Accused Essay

One day when my mother came home, she found her favorite vase cracked. Regardless of my innocence, I was blamed because of the lack of evidence that proved I did not do it. I then received a punishment for a crime that I did not commit. I am sure you all have similar tales of being blamed for things as a child. Considering this, what if you were accused and convicted of a crime, like murder, but were incapable of proving your innocence? This concept, of being guilty prior to the obtainment of actual, solid evidence that proves your guilt, is a violation of our right to be innocent until proven guilty. Article eleven, section one, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” Since this declaration in 1948 and even prior to that, in 1895 with the Coffin v. U. S. …show more content…
According to studies from Northwestern University, there have been over 2,000 people exonerated after their conviction since 1989. There have been 87 exonerations in 2016 alone. There have been 90 exonerations in 2009. In fact, Samuel Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan, estimated a 4.1% of error rate in criminal proceeding dealing with the death sentence. Since cases concerning the death penalty are analyzed more thoroughly than others, can you even imagine what the percent of error would be for trivial cases, like robbery or theft? Of course human error is bound to happen, but when the rate of innocents being put to death is high enough to cause legal professionals alarm, something must be changed. Reginald Adams is just one example of a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder twice and imprisoned for 34 years; 34 years of his life was wasted because of the willingness of a court to convict him with preposterous evidence that came nowhere near what should be substantial enough to prove someone’s